‘I want to be a part of that.’ Wallace Campbell’s basketball growth at Fort Mill
Wallace Campbell continues to grow as a basketball player.
The most experienced player in the Fort Mill boys’ basketball program, Campbell progresses each year. He’s an excellent communicator and is emerging as a strong leader for the Yellow Jackets, who entered this season as the No. 2-ranked team in the SCHSL Class 5A, Division 2 .
Campbell’s always been athletic, and his brothers started challenging him more on the basketball court as he improved. His growth has been significant throughout his high school career, and he feels playing for a program like Fort Mill has had a lot to do with it.
“I really started falling in love with basketball freshman year,” Campbell said. “(Fort Mill’s) been really good, ever since I’ve been in middle school. Watching them play, like in eighth grade, they made it all the way to the third round of the playoffs. I mean, that was awesome. I remember that my freshman year, we made it to the third round of the playoffs. That’s when I was like ‘this team is really good, and I want to be a part of that.’”
‘He works his butt off’
Campbell’s experience shows, and he’s taking an increasing leadership role.
Elevated to varsity as a sophomore, Campbell began suiting up alongside his older brother, Tillman, who graduated in 2024.
Now Campbell, a 6-foot-6-inch shooting guard, plays a key role for the Yellow Jackets’ offense as a senior, averaging 16.8 points per game through their first four games this season. He’s been starring alongside senior guard AJ Washington (21.5 ppg) and sophomore Jermier Nelson (20.3 ppg).
“(Campbell) works his butt off — a lot of people say they do, but he works his butt off,” Fort Mill head coach Myron Lowery said. “You’re in the system for so long, and you start to have a better understanding of it than everybody else, you start imparting that wisdom on everybody. He knows what I want, he and I communicate, he knows what I want and how to get it, and the guys do a good job. They’re all good teammates.”
A key piece of another strong Fort Mill team
Outside basketball, Campbell loves going bowling with his friends and teammates.
Campbell played other sports growing up, but basketball stuck, especially once he got to high school. The Yellow Jackets boast a 3-1 record through the early goings of this season, in which seniors George Stewart and Evan Jones are beginning to make differences on the stat sheet.
Fort Mill plays on the road against Lancaster at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday before the York County school returns for three consecutive home games.
“I used to play football and baseball when I was younger, but I stopped baseball pretty early. And I played football throughout middle school, but, like, I was pretty skinny,” Campbell said with a laugh. “I’ve known AJ and Jermier for years, and we’ve got a new piece in George who’s really good as well. Just a great group of guys, a lot of fun to be around, a lot of fun to play with. We’ve always gotten along together very well, so it’s a lot of fun to play with them.”